Trash To Gold: York Center Makes Compost From Debris

YORK — Leaves, grass and other yard debris that have been decomposing all year in York County are about ready to be sold as compost, says a compost facility supervisor.

Steve Geissler, director of operations for the Virginia Peninsulas Public Service Authority, which oversees the facility, says bids for purchase of the compost are being accepted.

While Geissler won't know the selling price until the bids are received, he says he has seen compost of a similar quality sell for as much as $800 per tractor-trailer load.

He estimates there are 200 tractor-trailer loads of compost at the facility, the York County Waste Management Center at the former landfill on Goodwin Neck Road.

The sales should offset the cost to the three communities that jointly finance the center, Geissler says.

Those communities - York County, Hampton and Poquoson -each have agreed to dump a minimum of yard debris per year at $29.50 per ton, Geissler says. "There will always be some fee," he says. But that cost eventually could decrease by as much as $10 per ton, depending on the sale of the compost, he says.

The communities' annual requirements are based on projections of how much yard debris each one generates, Geissler says. York County's contribution, for example, is $208,400, or 7,070 tons. Hampton's is $501,600, or 17,000 tons; Poquoson's is $28,300, or 960 tons.

In total, the three communities are contributing $738,300 toward the annual $838,000 operating cost of the facility, Geissler says. The remaining $100,000 will come from proceeds from bond sales used to construct the $1.4 million compost center, he says, explaining that it cost less to build than was expected.

Private contractors regionally and other communities may opt to dump debris at the center at $35 a ton, he says. That would further reduce the requirements of the three financiers, he says.

Outside contributions would also help the center meet its goals for yard debris delivered to it each year. While the center is not receiving as much yard debris as projected, Geissler says he is not concerned.

He estimates anywhere from 900 to 1,300 tons of debris a month, or 15,000 tons a year, are delivered to the facility. That's 5,000 tons short of his annual, 20,000-ton goal.

Publicity and a new curbside collection program in York County should help the compost center reach that goal, he says. "We are under our goal," he says. "But I think the reason we're under is the collection systems are just starting out."

York County began curbside collection of yard debris in July, says Lynn H. Shematek, York County's recycling coordinator. Beginning in November, residents will be able to put as many as 10 bags of yard debris out for curbside pick-up, she says. Currently, the county collects no more than four bags per household, she says.

The debris must be in clear bags so workers at the transfer station, which also is at the former landfill site on Goodwin Neck Road, can quickly separate those from the regular trash, Shematek says. The clear bags can be purchased at area grocery, hardware and home improvement stores, she says.

Hampton has a similar curbside collection program; in Poquoson, the city will transport trees and other yard debris for $12, or residents may cart it themselves for free.

The compost center should help the three communities meet state mandates that 25 percent of the total waste stream be recycled by 1995, Geissler says.

In 1993, York County recycled 22 percent of its waste stream, says Debbie Blanton, recycling coordinator for the public service authority. Hampton recycled 16 percent. Poquoson, with few commercial waste generators and a strong recycling ethic throughout the community, recycled 40 percent, she says.

However, the three communities combined recycled an average of just 17 percent, Blanton says, explaining that Hampton, with the largest population and waste generated, weighs more heavily into the equation.

Typically, yard debris makes up 20 percent of a community's waste, Blanton says. "Diverting that yard waste to the compost facility would make a big difference for the recycling rates of the three communities participating," she says.

Geissler calls the compost center "a real indication of the commitment York County, Poquoson and Hampton have toward recycling. In my mind, that's what this is all about."

At the compost center, yard debris is stacked in 100-foot-long rows along a 15-acre asphalt surface. A machine called a windrow turner, which vaguely resembles a tractor but can straddle the wide rows of leaves and agitate them with a spiked drum, is used to flail, chop and aerate the mixture of leaves, grass and woody waste to speed its decomposition.

The facility recently ordered a "trommel screen," which should further enhance the quality of the compost, says Frank Hedspeth, compost facility supervisor. The 18-foot screen looks like a barrel laying on its side at a 10-degree angle, he says.